I am new to top offs

[ilikethesea]

I have a twenty gallon tank, and I was wondering how much top off water you are supposed to put back in the tank? How does one figure this neat tank keeping stuff out? I did not see any thing about top offs in the "So you want to keep a reef tank section"

Will

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

Normally you are just replacing what is lost to evaporation with kalkwasser. On a 20 gallon tank it will probably only be a few ounces and could be easily done manually.
Do you have a sump?

 

[THE ROOK]

Kalk is only needed if your regular salt water changes can't keep up with the tank's calcium usage. I would bet the OP is not there quite yet.

If I'm reading correctly you have a 20 gallon display setup. If you don't have a sump then I simply suggest adding fresh ro water twice a day. Basically set the tank level where your happy & put the salinity to your desired mark, 1.026 for instance.

Evaporation only removes the water, not the salt. So your salinity goes up as your tank evaps. Simply add fresh ro water to the same line & your salinity should remain stable.

Regular water changes should be done with fresh "saltwater" that matches your tank in salinity & temp.

Hope that all makes sense.

 

[THE ROOK]

BTW, I'm not a fan of cats but your signature like sucks.

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

Kalwasser does much more than replace calcium.
It keeps your alkalinity up and keeps algae problems at bay.
IMO you should use kalkwasser no matter what size your tank is and regardless what you are keeping.
Daily kalkwasser additions give many benefits and are well worth the extra effort (not that there is much).

 

[mcoomer]

Even someone with limited experience can work with kalkwasser. All you need is a bucket and lid, RO water, and some kalk. Mix the kalk per the directions and let it settle overnight. Skim off the crust on top and then dip out what you need to replace the water that has evaporated.

 

[ilikethesea]

I do not have a sump. I am a huge fan of cats. I don't really get the hole idea behind the use of a signature, so I always just put something stupid in that field.

 

[THE ROOK]

Making a recommendation to use Kalk without even knowing the tank parameters or needs is not wise. Been there. I listened to this & spiked my Alk to over 17. Why, because that my tank wasn't using up the ALk as quick I was doing water changes. My salt mix & tank for that matter are around 11 & my calcium was at 400 already.

I like kalk but the saying is correct ; "don't add anything you don't test for".

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

If you spiked your alk over 17 you were grossly over dosing.
You need to monitor things and adjust accordingly.
The strength of kalkwasser can be adjusted so you still replace all of your evaporation without an alkalinity spike, just add more or less powder as needed.
All I know is years ago when I started dosing Kalkwasser daily my parameter swings and algae problems disappeared.

 

[THE ROOK]

If you read my enitre post, you would realize that my Alk is already high without the use of Kalk. This is simply because Reef Crystals starts on the high side. I am an advocate of kalk but the user should know more than just dump it in & your problems will se solved.

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

You are correct.
Common sense must be applied.